All We Have Is Now

Today I saw a concert given by a musical group with the ability to transport you to another time and place: Your own old age. The group is Young@ Heart, and if you have yet to see them, drop everything and arrange to do so; upcoming concert dates are posted online at youngatheartchorus.com. If none of those work for you, then get the documentary film about this outstanding group of folks aged 73 and older. (The average age of the current crop--naturally it changes often due to death of the members--is 87, so do the math and you'll see we are talking old.)

Here's the deal: Y@H is a batch of very senior citizens, a few in wheelchairs and several using canes, who sing rock songs. Sounds like it might be played for laughs, but it's not. Instead the singers are simply and stunningly good, very enthusiastic, and most of all, approaching this late stage of life with passion and adventure. Watching them makes you feel stupid for doing anything less yourself and panicked when you realize that they are you in the not so distant future.

The guy who puts it all together is a comparative spring chicken named Bob Cilman who started the group 25 years ago. He does the arranging and pushes the participants through their rigorous, choreographed paces. He's got some wild taste in music, including songs like the "All We Have Is Now" by the Flaming Lips, and The Ramone's "I Wanna Be Sedated," which when sung by this group is, one has to admit, pretty funny--and they know it.

It's compelling theater that's over all too soon. This afternoon, a great time was had by all, with the audience--mostly oldsters themselves--on their feet, hooting and hollering, as excited as any I've seen over the years at Woodstock or the Fillmore East. Trust me: This was my third time seeing Y@H, and the experience keeps getting better and better. Or maybe it's just that I keep getting older and older. Whatever the reason, seeing them is a trip, and also a poignant reminder that the one we're all on ultimately ends.